Cover Wingee Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI)
Wingee Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI)
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Wingee Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI), shares her perspective on her visit to Thailand, along with her reasons for choosing Bangkok as an important destination to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CWI in 2026.
“When women thrive, humanity thrives.” This is one of the core spirits of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI), reflected in the “Women's Pavilion” at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, which celebrates the courage, creativity and leadership of women in driving progress and promoting equality in the world.
Tatler had the opportunity to chat with Wingee Sin, Global Director of the CWI program, during a visit to Thailand, after a brief stay in Bangkok where she learned how to cook Thai food seven years ago.
In 2026, the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI) will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and marking the first time Cartier has chosen Thailand to host this global initiative, a unique opportunity for female entrepreneurs who are pursuing purpose and creating a positive impact across social and environmental dimensions.
Growth ecosystem
Over the past 19 years, the Cartier Women's Initiative has supported more than 330 female social entrepreneurs from 66 countries worldwide, providing a total of US$13.6 million in grants to help them grow their businesses sustainably and scale their impact.
Of these, 83 percent of participants experienced more than 50 percent of revenue growth within three years, expanded into new markets, and 72 percent continued to operate social enterprises or start new ventures. The program has also fostered a global community of over 500 entrepreneurs, experts, and long-term support partners, reinforcing CWI's role as an ecosystem for change and growth.
“We don't just want to celebrate the amazing women who are building social enterprises, we want to create structures that allow them to thrive, have a voice, be active in the business world and be supported continuously. Because sustainability doesn't come from a single award, but from a strong community that pushes them forward,” said Vinji Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative.
CWI continues to build a global ecosystem for women entrepreneurs, working with partners both in Thailand and internationally. We are also continuously expanding our role to create a platform for Thai entrepreneurs to reach the global stage and inspire a new generation of women to use business as a tool to drive positive social change in all dimensions.
20 years of CWI and opportunities for Thailand
The main reason why CWI chose Bangkok, Thailand, to host the 2026 Cartier Women's Initiative Awards on the occasion of its 20th anniversary is because Thailand has many strengths, including a gender parity ratio in the business sector that is among the top in the world (according to a Grant Thornton report), having infrastructure to support social enterprises, and being aware of SDGs issues, especially in businesses driven by culture, community, and the environment.
“Thailand has the third-highest percentage of women in senior executives in the world, making it a home to global women's advocacy organizations like UN Women. It also boasts a tolerant society, a progressive approach to marriage equality, and a long-standing government support for social enterprises, spanning over 15 years.”
With all these factors in mind, CWI has chosen Thailand as the destination for this world-class awards ceremony.
“We are honored to host the CWI Awards 2026 in Bangkok, one of the region's hubs for female entrepreneurs. Our diverse, creative and driven women are passionate about transforming society through business, which perfectly embodies the essence of the CWI program,” said Winji Sin with a smile.
Vision of the New Decade
The Cartier Women's Initiative has transformed from its humble beginnings as an entrepreneurial awards platform to a strong and sustainable ecosystem supporting women social entrepreneurs across all dimensions.
Over the past two decades, the CWI program has expanded to provide a broad range of support across three areas: (1) Financial Capital, providing funding to enhance the financial capacity of social entrepreneurs; (2) Human Capital, providing coaching, training and business expansion preparation; and (3) Social Capital, networking with global partners to access international resources and opportunities.
“CWI recognizes that our most important mission is to create opportunities for these women business leaders, who are role models in society, through an ecosystem that fosters and supports their business growth, particularly by accessing a global community of social entrepreneurs, which will further foster a strong network of women entrepreneurs.”
To pave the way for the new decade, Cartier Women's Initiative is organizing activities in Thailand to build connections with local entrepreneurs and deepen the social enterprise ecosystem. This includes the Cartier Women's Initiative Entrepreneurial Program, a collaboration between Cartier Thailand and Chulalongkorn University, which brings together faculty and business experts to provide short-term training to female entrepreneurs with the potential to join the CWI and expand beyond the national level.
In addition, networking events like CWI Gathering Night bring together women social entrepreneurs, former fellows, investors, businesses and organizations supporting women to discuss, share and inspire through stories of positive change brought about by social entrepreneurship.
Thailand and its key goals for the next ten years
Although the Cartier Women's Initiative has been running for over 19 years, it is unfortunate that in the past decade, no social entrepreneur representatives from Thailand have been selected to compete on this global stage.
Back in 2014, Thailand had its first and only CWI fellow, Salinee Thawornnan, CEO of Sunsawang, a clean energy provider in remote areas. The business, which helps people access a vital quality of life factor like solar power, has been selected for the program since then.
“We try to understand why some countries have more applicants than others. For example, we receive a significant number of applications each year from India, which has a relatively strong social entrepreneur ecosystem and a large entrepreneur base. Singapore, on the other hand, has a steady stream of government funding and support programs, making it easier to establish a social enterprise in Singapore and less publicity or solicitation required.”
While Thailand has laws supporting social enterprises and a significant increase in the proportion of female entrepreneurs, applications for the program have not increased accordingly.
“We believe the main reason is awareness. We're not sure how much Thai entrepreneurs know about the CWI program. Furthermore, our program is an international model and primarily uses English, which may make it difficult or unsuitable for entrepreneurs who are proficient in Thai and focused on local impact.”
Above Wingee Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI)
Wingee Sin, Global Director of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI)
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For this reason, Cartier Thailand has partnered with the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, to organize the Cartier Women's Initiative in a format adapted to the Thai context. This year, over 50 social entrepreneurs were supported to attend the training, with all content in Thai. The goal is to help strengthen their businesses and perhaps encourage some to apply to join the CWI program in the future.
The criteria for CWI participation are based on two main criteria: the first is impact measurement, which refers to social or environmental impacts, which must be an integral part of the business from the start, not a secondary or supplementary activity; and the second is financial sustainability, which refers to the financial sustainability of the business. If a business cannot survive, it will be unable to create long-term change.
Vinji Sin revealed that while female social entrepreneurs play a role in all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), certain sectors, such as education and healthcare, typically receive higher applications than others each year.
“The Science & Technology Pioneer category was created to address this shortage by supporting women who are using deep tech to solve social and environmental problems, and many of their businesses have achieved remarkable success.
“We want to prove to everyone that there are amazing female social entrepreneurs out there, and we are proud to show the world the amazing work they are doing.”
